Thursday, April 7, 2011

I'm starting to really like this more modern -- definitely more forthcoming -- approach the British royals have taken in the handling of the dissemination of information on the royal wedding. Admittedly, it's taken some of the fun of getting 'scoops,' but these days since the Internet has made it all but impossible to claim one part of a story as an 'exclusive,' you might as well go with the flow.

Today, the wedding day schedule (It's Friday, April 29th if you've been living in a cave) was announced and it's a doozy -- especially for stateside royal watchers who will need to get to bed very early the night before so as not to miss a moment of the festivities. We're keeping our tiara at our bedside so we just have to slip it on and head into the family room at 5 am to catch the start of a marathon of wall to wall coverage. Here are the highlights:

8:30am An announcement will be made regarding the titles that Kate and William be getting from the Queen on the occasion of their marriage. There has been some speculation that the couple who has done their best to downplay the pomp and circumstance associated with everyday royal life (Have you heard they're moving in with Harry after their honeymoon while they decide on their permanent London digs?)might eschew titles altogether. I find that highly unlikely. While William has opted to be known as William Wales since his days at university, there is little chance that he would deprive his bride of the 'princess' title she reported really, really wants. After all, his mother made the title chic again and it's clear that everyone from the Queen to the Middleton family are more than happy to have Kate thought of as Diana 2.0. So, you heard it here first. It's going to be HRH Princess Catherine of Wales.

10:00 am Guests will begin arriving at Westminster Abbey. Don't look for Sarah Ferguson or President Obama since neither made the invite list but Victoria and David Beckham will be there with bells on.

10:40 am The royal family will arrive. Watch for plenty of Philip Tracey hats.

11:00 am Kate and her five bridesmaids arrive. Kate will be chauffeured to the Abbey in the same Rolls Royce limousine that was used by Prince Charles and Camilla when they were attacked during student protests earlier this year. Rest assured the broken window and pesky paint splatters have been removed. An interesting choice, wouldn't you say? (I think Kate is proving to be very savvy in the PR department. Rumor has it that she is being advised by Sophie Essex, Prince Edward's wife who used to toil as a publicist and is one of the Queen's favorites)

At the very same time Kate first appears in her dress, the palace will finally release a press release with the name of the designer of her dress complete with sketches and photos. The 7,000 journalists that are camped out all along the procession route will be getting the very same information at the exact same time that I will as I cover the same event in my pajamas from Greenwich. This is when I love technology. I have heard a lot of conflicting information from my sources in the UK regarding the designer of the dress. I think Bruce Oldfield would be a lovely choice and there is a lot of buzz around him but since the Middleton gals have been photographed around his boutique of late it seems too obvious. Maybe he's doing the bridemaids' dresses and mom for the big day. It would be a lovely choice and yet another nod to Diana who wore many of his designs.

I'm thinking that Victoria Beckham has the inside track. Here's why: She would be an inspired, modern choice in keeping with Kate and William's younger, hipper take on things.She is already designing some things for Kate for the honeymoon. Word is that Kate's parents are paying for the dress so I'm guessing this would be a more affordable choice than McQueen couture. I also think Beckham, who seems quite earnest about her career as a designer and has been making gorgeous dresses embraced by editors everywhere, would come up with something stunning for Kate that would be roundly applauded. And, I think there's a real possibility that it's happening because no one is talking about her as a candidate and Kate seems determined to surprise everyone. I think I should be invited for tea if Im right since Im calling it first!

12:15 pm Kate and William depart for Buckingham Palace where the Queen will host a reception for them attended by 650 guests. On the menu: passed canapes and cocktails and two cakes (inexplicably one is reportedly a fruitcake).

7:00 pm Prince Charles will host a more intimate affair for 300 where there will be dinner and dancing. Prince Harry recently told reporters that his father has been helping Kate select the music for the evening's festivities.

That's all I know for now. More updates to come as the big day draws closer. Cheerio old bean!

2 Comments:

Paula said...

I would love for Victoria to design the dress. What a coup for her! And it would be a lovely dress - she has impeccably good taste, and would design a dress perfect for a Princess. Keeping my fingers crossed. I'm also very please Kate will be Princess of Wales. She and William seem very happy.

It would be totally unacceptable for Mrs Beckham to design the Royal Wedding Dress. She is (or was) a performance artist, a great British Celebrity married to Mr David Beckham, who is in himself another great British Celebrity. Both should and deserve their invites to the Royal Wedding but Mrs Beckham is NOT a trained fashion designer. Mrs Beckham should not be encouraged any further than being a former 'Spice Girl'. Besides, the Imperial Royal Wedding of HIH The Tsarevitch Peter to Lady Sarah von Molebourg has already been a worldwide phenomenon. The dress was designed by Sophia von Cranstonbourg.www.capricanempire.blogspot.com

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Diane Clehane is a New York Times best-selling author and award-winning journalist who has reported on and written about the lives of some of the world’s most intriguing people for Vanity Fair, Forbes, People and many other national publications. Her new book, "Imagining Diana," imagines what Princess Diana's life would have been like if she survived the crash. The book has garnered a wave of media coverage in international outlets including The New York Times and The Daily Mail. Noted author Erica Jong praised "Imagining Diana" as "the first book about Diana that presents her as a real woman ... fascinating and well-written." People.com called the novel "one of the best books on Diana."
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